M3.2 Vulnerable Populations

The M3.2 module was a very dense and interesting one out of all this week's modules. I felt like I learned more facts than what I have been already exposed too. For example, I feel more educated now on BPA. When my daughter was born in 2007, I remember hearing about BPA from pregnancy health classes, , but as a young mother I had no idea what that was or even what it could do to my child. When she became a toddler, there were many products that were labeled BPA free. I tried to educate myself on and learned that it was a chemical that can effect the child's brain development. I started buying products that are BPA to try and minimize the contact she was from these products with these harsh chemicals. Watching Rishi Manchanda video on upstream approach sheded some new light for me. I had learned about that concept during undergrad but now I feel like I was able to grasp it more. His example on the 3 individuals and what each were trying to do to save the children made complete sense. What stood out to me on that 90 min video was the chemical Atrazine, which causes horrible effects on the reproductive system. It was sad to watch babies born with birth defects and how male genitals look after being exposed to Atrazine. I really enjoyed hearing about FIGO and what they do and stand for. Reproductive health is vital and we need to make sure that is it being taken care because humanity must grow and move forward.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 13, 2018 at 8:48 AM

    Hi Christina,
    I agree about BPA. I had heard about it and new it was a good idea to avoid it, but never understand the health effects. I also liked Rishi's example about the 3 individuals' approach to saving drowning children in the stream. While it can seem callous not to work on the immediate suffering in front of you, working "upstream" may have a better outcome in the long run. This seems to me to be an example of utilitarianism.
    Malena

    ReplyDelete
  2. Douglas Fuller IIISeptember 14, 2018 at 10:31 AM

    I agree with you. I am not a parent, so I had even less of an idea about BPA until the "BPA free" thing became more mainstream. Unfortunately, as we learned here and in class, chemical companies and manufacturers of the products we use every day will go far out of their way to use toxins that they know could harm consumers.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog: Watch M10.1 Video!

1) Consider your workplace or a workplace of one of your family members. Are there chemical, biological, radiological or ergonomic issues? Using the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, how might you address the issues? How are they being addressed in reality? I work at ZSFG (Zuckerberg San Francisco General). I would say all those exist here. Different buildings would fall under each category. Currently the new building has the state of the art equipment where radiological harm would be more common to workers. Working at a hospital you need equipment to detect what is wrong with patients at the cost of being exposed to chemical, biological and radiological harm. By using the hierarchy of controls the elimination phase would be removing equipment that is no longer in use or too old to be in operation to combat the harmful effects it has on workers. Substitution would be taking out old equipment that pose harm to workers and bring in new equipment that will emit less substances ...
Read more

M3.4 Air Pollution

Image
Watching the youtube video, I felt like it introduced me more to air quality. I have some knowledge on it from taking some health class during undergrad, but only understanding the iceberg of it. The 10 minute video summarizes how poor air quality is made up and the effects it has on the human population and the place we call home, planet earth. It was interesting learning about how sulfuric acid is made and how other chemical compounds can wreak havoc when produced. Looking over the air quality index I learned how to read AQI levels on air quality. It connects to the poor air quality we experienced with the fires last October. To learn what numbers indicate what color to use to warn those that the air is good, moderate or poor. I also learned about the ozone, the one Earth has and the one us humans create with pollutants from cars and factories.  Who and what are the top polluters in your zip code? The top polluters in my...
Read more

M10.2 Blog about MSDS and ToxNet

What are the health risks associated with this chemical? It was hard to find a sole chemical for ZSFG but I came across a compound used here called Metaltite which is used as a dental cement in one of the clinics in building 5 (there are many buildings located in ZSFG but building 5 is where some clinics can be found).  Is the chemical a carcinogen? Under OSHA, this compound is found to be hazardous and a highly flammable liquid and vapor. On the sheet it does not indicate whether it is a carcinogen but searching on the web it was hard to find much information on it. What personal protective equipment or special precautions should be taken when working with this chemical? Those who come in contact with Metaltite should wear protective clothing such as gloves and safety goggles and those who are handling it should not allow this compound to enter drains, sewers or watercourses. Handling of Metaltite should be taken place in a well-ventilated area and kept aw...
Read more